Darren Burris

I got my start and discovered my passion for teaching in the School District of Philadelphia and am now a math teacher and instructional coach at BCCS. I have become increasingly engaged in implementation of common core, primarily in its promise to foster collaboration across state lines as well as push innovation within the larger education ecosystem.

I am currently a PARCC Educator Leader Fellow for the state of Massachusetts and a member of the state model curriculum development team for high school mathematics. I am also trying to engage in constructive discussion around common core implementation with Patrick Riccards through conversations on important topics on Common Core Radio on the BAM Radio Network. I have also tried to connect educators to resources and news through two different websites: Core Essentials and Common Core Online. At the school level I am working on One Dorchester, a collaborative project between a district, charter, and Catholic school in Boston, around implementation of common core-aligned performance tasks in ELA, science, history, and mathematics. In a similar vein I participate in an ongoing partnership between Jeremiah E. Burke High School, a Boston Public School and Boston Collegiate funded by the Federal Exemplary Charter School Collaboration Grant. Lastly, I am fortunate to be working with our 5-8 program, specifically 6th and 8th grade, to share curriculum and provide professional development to Lawrence Public Schools utilizing a common core curriculum mapping tool, Countdown for Teachers.

Every day I am fortunate to teach Algebra to 9th graders and work alongside and support elementary, middle, and high school teachers. I am personally working on fostering persevering problem-solvers through meaningful dialogue, collaborative activities, problem-based learning, sustained Q & A, and blended classroom experiences.

Over the last few years I have found Twitter and the blogosphere as indispensable spaces for professional growth and learning and see this work as an extension of that!

Besides curating common core resources around the clock on Twitter and blogs, Darren is also fortunate to have a wonderful wife and three small girls with whom to share his life.